As the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) second aircraft carrier, commonly referred to as the Type 001A, nears completion, Chinese state-owned media have reported that the country's third aircraft carrier is also under construction.

Li Jie, a naval military expert, was quoted by the Global Times newspaper on 21 February as saying that the carrier, commonly known as the Type 002, will be "entirely different" from China's previous carriers and that it will look like a "US aircraft carrier rather than a Russian one".

_________________"Haijun" means "navy" in Mandarin Chinese.

"You have enemies? Good. It means you stood up for something in your life."- Winston Churchill

Like Liaoning, the Type 001A is a conventionally powered short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) carrier and is thus fitted with a 'ski-jump'.

According to Chinese state media, however, the new vessel is expected to be faster (top speed of 31 kt) than Liaoning (29 kt) and has a shorter island and a larger hangar. According to the state-owned Global Times newspaper, the Type 001A is expected to embark between 32 and 36 J-15 carrier-based fighters compared to the 24 J-15s Liaoning can carry.

On 26 April China launched its first domestically built aircraft carrier, known as the Type 001A, in a ceremony held at the Dalian shipyard. Source: PA

_________________"Haijun" means "navy" in Mandarin Chinese.

"You have enemies? Good. It means you stood up for something in your life."- Winston Churchill

Can someone confirm if the cargo ship behind Liaoning inside Hong Kong harbor is the Colombo Express? Using this photo as reference, I think it is possible to make a very interesting 1/700 Diaorama as both ships are available in the same scale!